Fears for House of Fraser as Chinese backers

ParcelHero's head of consumer research, David Jinks, says: "Clearly the latest credit agency warnings are bad news for House of Fraser, its investors, and those loyal shoppers who continue to visit its stores.

House of Fraser has lurched into fresh crisis after C.banner worldwide, the Chinese owner of Hamleys, pulled out of plans to rescue the ailing department store chain.

Philip Day, the billionaire owner of Edinburgh Woollen Mill, is exploring a bid to save the company according to sources quoted by Sky News, after the Chinese owner of toy chain Hamleys pulled out of its planned £70 million investment. The announcement was made on 16 May of 2018.

That programme involved the closure of 31 stores and the loss of up to 6,000 jobs, while House of Fraser said it would also seek rent reductions at its remaining locations.

Chinese retail group C.banner had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire a 51 per cent stake in House of Fraser Group Ltd earlier this year.

People walk past a House of Fraser store in central London, Britain January 11, 2017.

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Retail tycoon Mike Ashley, the founder and chief executive of Sports Direct, has reportedly offered House of Fraser a £50m loan in recent weeks.

It is understood Ashley first approached House of Fraser on 2 July and discussions are ongoing.

He was recently linked with a deal for electrical retailer Maplin before it slumped in to administration.

"Apart from needing an urgent cash injection, the true heart of the problem for House of Fraser is outdated stores and an even more outmoded website".

In July, C.Banner had already said it was delaying the investment until legal proceedings with landlords over the department store's Company Voluntary Arrangement were resolved.

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